Life in the Atomic Age

Do you get a profound sense of irony when you read this statement?

Fox News Channel’s Bill O’Reilly branded it (Al Jazeera - ed) a “propaganda network

Full article here.

Wouldn’t it be great if, while in a position of responsibility, you screwed up royally, and could then just ask not he be held accountable for your actions- and get away with it?

Louisiana Gov. Kathleen Babineaux Blanco, blamed by the former leader of the Federal Emergency Management Agency and New Orleans Mayor C. Ray Nagin for many of the city’s post-hurricane problems, was given no questions about her response to Hurricane Katrina when she appeared before a Senate committee to plead for more federal money. She asked not to be questioned about it and the senators agreed.

Of course, our state officials are used to being held to some pretty low standards.

Mike Brown may deserve criticism for his performance. But given the corruption and malfeasance in the Pelican State, and the lack of preparedness and chaotic response of local officials, his observation that “Louisiana was dysfunctional” may not be far off the mark.

I thought Brown’s testimony before the Senate was kind of snivelly. But I also think it was pretty much right on the money, at least as far as describing the Louisiana response (or, more appropriately, lack thereof).

Very strong.

Remember - it’s the age of the internet, and we can fact check your ass. Of course, we usenet lurkers see this tactic all of the time - people claiming to be a staunch supporter of X up until he/she did Y - in an effort to give their subsequent condemnation of X and Y more weight. Then Google steps in and ruins their fun - and exposes their blatant dishonesty and fraud. Google - the kitchen light to internet cockroaches.

Help me out with this statement:

One might feel compassion for Hitler, Stalin or Saddam on learning about their appalling childhoods (like most famous dictators, they lost a parent before the age of 14), or even for George Bush (who had a beastly time), but still hate them for what they did.

(emphasis added) Is the author of this article really saying the GWB is less deserving of compassion than Stalin? That the leader of a democratic society prosecuting a war against terrorists deserves less compassion than a dictator who willfully starved millions of his own people to death. And there’s not to much doubt about that “hated” language, eh? The authors choice of “cruel foci” is interesting as well:

Given that the last century gave us Hitler, Stalin and Pol Pot, it is important not to exaggerate the extent of modern day cruelty within western European and Anglo-Saxon nations. It is now more subtle, but very much on the increase.

Gee, I wonder who’s missing from the list of “cruel”?

It’s all the same.

“This bill boggles the mind,” said Steve Ellis, a water resources expert at Taxpayers for Common Sense. “Brazen doesn’t begin to describe it. The Louisiana delegation is using Katrina as an excuse to resurrect a laundry list of pork projects.”

Aides to Gov. Kathleen Babineaux Blanco (D) helped shape the bill. The governor yesterday asked for $31.7 billion in federal funds for her state’s infrastructure, including $20 billion for hurricane protections — which aides described as a down payment on the larger sum.

Huey would be very, very proud.

So much for hurricane predictions. we actually got hit harder by Rita than by Katrina, due primarily to the fact that we were on the Eastern side of the storm - where the most significant winds will be.

The closing on our house was supposed to be on Friday. That didn’t happen, because the buyers couldn’t get insurance with a hurricane bearing down on the region. Nothing like sitting in a 200 year old house that’s under contract to be sold while she gets pummeled by wind and rain - expecting something horrible to happen at any moment. Fortunately, Dogwood came through unscathed. We lost a few more big branches, but all of the trees that were going to come down did so during Katrina. Power was out for about 48 hours, and finally came back on about 1am this morning. Nothing like being sandwiched between 2 major hurricanes in less than a month. Especially when you’re trying to sell 1 house, buy another, immigrate to Canada, and finish up with all of your academic responsibilities before you leave in a few weeks.

I think it’s about time for another Usquebaugh post - I certainly drank enough scotch whisky over the past 48 hours to fill up several blog posts worth of space.

Makes a break for it.

The photo is priceless.

Well, at least poor Aaron Broussard has some supporters. Who knew that, under Bush, FEMA had changed its name to the Federal Ethnocleansing Management Association?

Most of us have already heard the damning accusations of Aaron Broussard, president of Jefferson Parrish, who said on Meet the Press that FEMA had cut off supplies of water, food and fuel to hurricane victims as well as cutting “all of our emergency communications lines.”

Yeah, that’s it. Much easier to believe that the Federal Government actively blocked aid to the poorer residents of New Orleans than it is to consider that maybe, just maybe, our local and state governments weren’t up to the task. Absolutely amazing.

“Throw me something, Mister”.

Notice how an attempt is made to excuse the behavior - claiming that the official is himself a “victim of Katrina”.

Philip Ramon, chief of staff to Kenner Mayor Philip Capitano, has said city officials were investigating the alleged pilfering but added that many employees were themselves hurricane victims.

And that’s the point. Louisiana will always circle the wagons, go into CYA mode, and protect her own. Government malfeasance and incompetence are a way of life here. And you can bet that state and local officials don’t want outsiders “in their business”, as the saying goes.

Yeah, we’ve got lots of them down here.

I would say that most people who live in Louisiana didn’t buy Broussard’s little bit of “political theater” - when he got on TV and broke down for the world to see. Broke down while conveniently blaming everyone except state and local government for the horrible state of affairs that was unfolding post-Katrina.

What’s really interesting is that people here in Louisiana are starting to realize that local elections can have very real and tangible effects. What’s much less clear is whether this newfound realization will be able to overcome generations of nepotism and cronyism - so ingrained in Louisiana politics and day to day life.

More on the “local reaction” to Blanco’s handling of the crisis. Hint: we don’t see it as Bush’s fault.

As coastal Louisiana begins to recover from this disaster, the voters in Louisiana are beginning to re-evaluate their choice of leaders. The voices for change in a state that has been called the nations only “banana republic” are growing louder. They vow to rebuild, both their beloved New Orleans and the political system that failed her.

Lagniappe in action.

Officials are responding to complaints that city workers helped themselves to cases of Gatorade, brand-new clothing and other donated items that were intended for victims of Hurricane Katrina.